# MCAT Percentiles for Every Score From 472 to 528, and 2027 Dates

> MCAT percentiles 2026: 508 is the 74th percentile and 500 the 48th, all 57 scores in one table, with the 2027 test dates, score release dates and USD 355 fee.

Markdown copy of https://meduniexam.com/blog/mcat-percentiles-table-and-test-dates-2026-2027 (the HTML page), published by MedUni Exam. Published September 22, 2026. Site guide for agents: https://meduniexam.com/llms.txt.

Written by [Nicholas](https://meduniexam.com/about.md). Checked on September 22, 2026.

MCAT percentiles come from one AAMC table, in effect May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. A total score of 508 is the 74th percentile, 500 the 48th and 515 the 91st, out of 305,494 scores from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 testing years, checked on September 22, 2026. All 57 score points are in the first table below, beside the 2025 ranks, with the section percentiles and the 2027 test dates under it.

## MCAT percentiles 2026: every total score from 472 to 528

An MCAT total score of 508 is the **74th percentile**: 74 percent of MCAT scores were at or below 508. Every percentile here comes from the AAMC table [Summary of MCAT Total and Section Scores](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/19701/download), in effect May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, checked on September 22, 2026. That table counts 305,494 total scores from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 testing years, mean 500.6, standard deviation 11.2.

A percentile rank is the percentage of scores equal to or less than that score point, and a 500, the midpoint, is the 48th percentile. MCAT percentiles 2025 sit in the third column: the ranks in effect May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026, built on 293,882 scores from 2022, 2023 and 2024.

| MCAT total score | Percentile rank, May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027 | Percentile rank, May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MCAT score 472 | Below the 1st percentile | Below the 1st percentile |
| MCAT score 473 | Below the 1st percentile | Below the 1st percentile |
| MCAT score 474 | Below the 1st percentile | Below the 1st percentile |
| MCAT score 475 | 1st percentile | 1st percentile |
| MCAT score 476 | 1st percentile | 1st percentile |
| MCAT score 477 | 2nd percentile | 2nd percentile |
| MCAT score 478 | 2nd percentile | 2nd percentile |
| MCAT score 479 | 3rd percentile | 3rd percentile |
| MCAT score 480 | 4th percentile | 4th percentile |
| MCAT score 481 | 5th percentile | 5th percentile |
| MCAT score 482 | 6th percentile | 6th percentile |
| MCAT score 483 | 8th percentile | 8th percentile |
| MCAT score 484 | 9th percentile | 9th percentile |
| MCAT score 485 | 11th percentile | 11th percentile |
| MCAT score 486 | 12th percentile | 12th percentile |
| MCAT score 487 | 14th percentile | 14th percentile |
| MCAT score 488 | 16th percentile | 16th percentile |
| MCAT score 489 | 18th percentile | 18th percentile |
| MCAT score 490 | 20th percentile | 21st percentile |
| MCAT score 491 | 23rd percentile | 23rd percentile |
| MCAT score 492 | 25th percentile | 25th percentile |
| MCAT score 493 | 28th percentile | 28th percentile |
| MCAT score 494 | 31st percentile | 31st percentile |
| MCAT score 495 | 33rd percentile | 34th percentile |
| MCAT score 496 | 36th percentile | 36th percentile |
| MCAT score 497 | 39th percentile | 39th percentile |
| MCAT score 498 | 42nd percentile | 42nd percentile |
| MCAT score 499 | 45th percentile | 46th percentile |
| MCAT score 500 | 48th percentile | 49th percentile |
| MCAT score 501 | 52nd percentile | 52nd percentile |
| MCAT score 502 | 55th percentile | 55th percentile |
| MCAT score 503 | 58th percentile | 58th percentile |
| MCAT score 504 | 61st percentile | 62nd percentile |
| MCAT score 505 | 64th percentile | 65th percentile |
| MCAT score 506 | 67th percentile | 68th percentile |
| MCAT score 507 | 71st percentile | 71st percentile |
| MCAT score 508 | 74th percentile | 74th percentile |
| MCAT score 509 | 76th percentile | 77th percentile |
| MCAT score 510 | 79th percentile | 79th percentile |
| MCAT score 511 | 82nd percentile | 82nd percentile |
| MCAT score 512 | 84th percentile | 84th percentile |
| MCAT score 513 | 86th percentile | 87th percentile |
| MCAT score 514 | 89th percentile | 89th percentile |
| MCAT score 515 | 91st percentile | 91st percentile |
| MCAT score 516 | 92nd percentile | 92nd percentile |
| MCAT score 517 | 94th percentile | 94th percentile |
| MCAT score 518 | 95th percentile | 95th percentile |
| MCAT score 519 | 96th percentile | 96th percentile |
| MCAT score 520 | 97th percentile | 97th percentile |
| MCAT score 521 | 98th percentile | 98th percentile |
| MCAT score 522 | 99th percentile | 99th percentile |
| MCAT score 523 | 99th percentile | 99th percentile |
| MCAT score 524 | 99th percentile | 100th percentile |
| MCAT score 525 | 100th percentile | 100th percentile |
| MCAT score 526 | 100th percentile | 100th percentile |
| MCAT score 527 | 100th percentile | 100th percentile |
| MCAT score 528 | 100th percentile | 100th percentile |

Source: AAMC, Summary of MCAT Total and Section Scores, the tables effective May 1, 2026 and May 1, 2025, checked on September 22, 2026.

The AAMC rewrites the ranks every May 1 from the three most recent testing years, on its [percentile ranks page](https://students-residents.aamc.org/mcat-research-and-data/percentile-ranks-mcat-exam); the [prior table](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/18846/download) is the one in the third column. Ten score points dropped one percentile point between the two: 490, 495, 499, 500, 504, 505, 506, 509, 513 and 524, this article's arithmetic on the two tables.

## MCAT percentiles by section, 118 to 132

A section score of 125 is the 56th percentile in Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems and the 44th in Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior, on the same AAMC table, checked on September 22, 2026. The other two sit between them: the 62nd in Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills and the 53rd in Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems. Each section is scored 118 to 132 with a midpoint of 125, per the AAMC [score scale page](https://students-residents.aamc.org/mcat-scores/mcat-exam-score-scale). Column headers below shorten those names to Chem/Phys, CARS, Bio/Biochem and Psych/Soc.

| MCAT section score | Chem/Phys percentile | CARS percentile | Bio/Biochem percentile | Psych/Soc percentile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Section score 118 | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Section score 119 | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd |
| Section score 120 | 9th | 8th | 8th | 6th |
| Section score 121 | 16th | 15th | 15th | 10th |
| Section score 122 | 25th | 25th | 23rd | 17th |
| Section score 123 | 35th | 37th | 32nd | 25th |
| Section score 124 | 46th | 50th | 43rd | 34th |
| Section score 125 | 56th | 62nd | 53rd | 44th |
| Section score 126 | 67th | 74th | 64th | 54th |
| Section score 127 | 77th | 84th | 75th | 65th |
| Section score 128 | 85th | 90th | 84th | 76th |
| Section score 129 | 91st | 95th | 90th | 85th |
| Section score 130 | 96th | 98th | 96th | 92nd |
| Section score 131 | 99th | 99th | 98th | 97th |
| Section score 132 | 100th | 100th | 100th | 100th |

Source: AAMC, Summary of MCAT Total and Section Scores, section ranks effective May 1, 2026, checked on September 22, 2026.

Rank depends on the section: a 128 is the 90th percentile in CARS and the 76th in Psych/Soc. Section means run 124.9, 124.6, 125.1 and 125.9 in the column order above.

## What is a good MCAT score for med school

The national MCAT figure the AAMC publishes for med school is **512.1**, the mean total score of 2025-2026 matriculants to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, against 506.3 for applicants, from [AAMC FACTS Table A-16](https://www.aamc.org/media/86686/download?attachment=), checked on September 22, 2026. The AAMC sets no good score, minimum or target: 512.1 is a center with a standard deviation of 6.5, so about half of matriculants scored below it. That cycle had 23,440 matriculants and 54,699 applicants, and the means cover only the people who applied with MCAT scores; about 2 percent of applicants each cycle apply without one. On the table above, 512 is the 84th percentile and 506 the 67th.

| Group and measure | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Matriculants, mean total MCAT score | 511.5 | 511.9 | 511.9 | 511.7 | 511.8 | 512.1 |
| Applicants, mean total MCAT score | 506.4 | 505.9 | 506.5 | 506.3 | 506.1 | 506.3 |

Source: AAMC FACTS Table A-16, applicants and matriculants to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, checked on September 22, 2026.

The matriculant mean moved 0.6 of a point across those six cycles, from 511.5 to 512.1, so a target set on 512 six years ago still holds. For 2025-2026 the AAMC counted scores through August, while earlier years stopped in April. A good MCAT score range for medical school sits between 506.3, the applicant mean, and 512.1, the matriculant mean, on Table A-16 for 2025-2026.

## MCAT passing score and MCAT pass rate

The MCAT has no passing score, no pass mark and no published pass rate: the AAMC reports a scaled score of 472 to 528, where 500 is the midpoint and the 48th percentile, checked on September 22, 2026. A full-text read of the 27-page [MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2026](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/11711/download) that day found no instance of passing score, pass or fail, pass rate or percentile.

The MCAT score range is 472 to 528 for the total score and 118 to 132 for each of the four sections, with midpoints of 500 and 125. An MCAT failure rate and an MCAT failing score are figures the AAMC never publishes.

Wrong answers score the same as unanswered questions, so leave none blank. Scaling and equating, not a curve, set the scores, so a score means the same thing on any date, per the AAMC page on [how the MCAT is scored](https://students-residents.aamc.org/mcat-scores/how-mcat-exam-scored), checked on September 22, 2026.

## MCAT test dates 2026 and 2027 with score release dates

The AAMC lists **35 U.S. MCAT test dates in 2027**, January 15 to September 11, in the [2027 Schedule for the MCAT](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/15141/download), checked on September 22, 2026. Scores post by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the release date. The AAMC publishes a 30 to 35 day wait, and the 35 printed 2027 date pairs run 31 to 33 days, counted here.

| 2027 MCAT test date | Score release date in 2027 | Days from test day to score |
| --- | --- | --- |
| January 15 | February 16 | 32 |
| January 16 | February 16 | 31 |
| January 21 | February 23 | 33 |
| January 29 | March 2 | 32 |
| January 30 (select locations) | March 2 | 31 |
| February 12 | March 16 | 32 |
| March 6 | April 6 | 31 |
| March 19 | April 20 | 32 |
| April 9 | May 11 | 32 |
| April 10 | May 11 | 31 |
| April 16 | May 18 | 32 |
| April 17 | May 18 | 31 |
| May 1 | June 2 | 32 |
| May 7 | June 8 | 32 |
| May 8 | June 8 | 31 |
| May 13 | June 15 | 33 |
| May 14 (select locations) | June 15 | 32 |
| May 21 | June 23 | 33 |
| May 29 | June 29 | 31 |
| June 11 | July 13 | 32 |
| June 12 | July 13 | 31 |
| June 25 | July 27 | 32 |
| June 26 | July 27 | 31 |
| July 9 (select locations) | August 10 | 32 |
| July 10 | August 10 | 31 |
| July 23 | August 24 | 32 |
| July 30 | August 31 | 32 |
| August 14 | September 14 | 31 |
| August 20 | September 21 | 32 |
| August 21 | September 21 | 31 |
| August 28 (select locations) | September 28 | 31 |
| September 2 | October 5 | 33 |
| September 3 | October 5 | 32 |
| September 10 | October 12 | 32 |
| September 11 | October 12 | 31 |

Source: AAMC, 2027 Schedule for the MCAT, and the AAMC U.S. MCAT calendar, checked on September 22, 2026.

No MCAT runs in October, November or December 2027, and the start time is 8 a.m. Scheduling for 2027 opens [October 20 to 22, 2026](https://students-residents.aamc.org/register-mcat-exam/2027-mcat-registration-opening) at noon Eastern Time by testing center location.

The 2026 MCAT testing year is finished: the last seven U.S. test days ran August 15 to September 12, 2026, and only two 2026 score releases are still ahead, on the AAMC [U.S. calendar](https://students-residents.aamc.org/register-mcat-exam/us-mcat-calendar-scheduling-deadlines-and-score-release-dates-0) read on September 22, 2026. August 15, 2026 scored September 15; August 21 and 22 scored September 22; September 3 and 4 score October 6; September 11 and 12 score October 13, 2026.

Three change deadlines govern every appointment, at 60, 30 and 10 days before the exam date, all 11:59 p.m. local test center time; 10 days out is the last day you can schedule.

## MCAT fees in USD, and where the MCAT is offered

Standard MCAT registration costs **USD 355** and Fee Assistance Program registration costs **USD 145**, the 2026 testing year figures in the [MCAT Essentials](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/11711/download) and on the AAMC [scheduling fees page](https://students-residents.aamc.org/register-mcat-exam/mcat-scheduling-fees), checked on September 22, 2026. No 2027 fee was published by that date, so budget on the 2026 table.

| MCAT fee, 2026 testing year | Standard registration | Fee Assistance Program |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Initial registration fee | USD 355 | USD 145 |
| International fee, outside the US, Canada and US territories | USD 130, nonrefundable | USD 130, nonrefundable |
| Total for an international examinee (computed) | USD 485 | USD 275 |
| Reschedule, 60 or more days before the exam | USD 55 | USD 25 |
| Reschedule, 30 to 59 days before the exam | USD 110 | USD 45 |
| Reschedule, 10 to 29 days before the exam | USD 210 | USD 85 |

Source: AAMC, The MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2026, and the AAMC scheduling fees page, checked on September 22, 2026.

The AAMC [territories and international calendar](https://students-residents.aamc.org/register-mcat-exam/us-territories-and-international-mcat-testing-calendar), read on September 22, 2026, names the U.S. territories and the international locations. Canada has [its own AAMC calendar](https://students-residents.aamc.org/register-mcat-exam/canadian-mcat-calendar-scheduling-deadlines-and-score-release-dates) and pays no international fee.

- No international fee: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- With the USD 130 fee: Australia, China (Hong Kong), France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is on the 2027 list and not on the 2026 list.
- Qatar was on the 2026 list and is not on the 2027 one, read on September 22, 2026.

India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines are not on that list, so testing from any of them means a flight plus USD 130.

## MCAT attempt limits: 3 in a testing year, 7 in a lifetime

The MCAT attempt limit is 3 tries in one testing year, 4 across two consecutive testing years and 7 in a lifetime, and the count starts at the April 2015 test dates, per the [MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2026](https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/11711/download), checked on September 22, 2026.

A no-show counts as one attempt whatever the reason, and the scheduling fee is not refunded, so a missed morning costs one of seven lifetime attempts plus USD 355 standard, or USD 145 with the Fee Assistance Program.

On test day you get one chance to score or void the exam, and the choice is final. No AAMC page read that day says whether a voided exam counts toward the seven. Limits for the other exams are in the post on [how many attempts each exam allows](https://meduniexam.com/blog/how-many-times-can-you-take-step-1-nclex-mcat-and-plab-1.md).

## How long to study for the MCAT, and how long the MCAT is

The one published MCAT study figure on an AAMC page is six to eight hours a day for a minimum of six weeks, from Dr. Sunny Nakae in [How to Train for a Marathon or the MCAT Exam](https://students-residents.aamc.org/taking-mcat-exam/how-train-marathon-or-mcat-exam), checked on September 22, 2026. That is 42 to 56 hours a week and 252 to 336 hours in total, this article's arithmetic on her numbers. The AAMC sets no study hour count, so treat hers as one dean's advice.

The MCAT is **230 questions** in 375 minutes: Chem/Phys 59 questions in 95 minutes, CARS 53 in 90, Bio/Biochem 59 in 95 and Psych/Soc 59 in 95, per the AAMC page on [what is on the MCAT exam](https://students-residents.aamc.org/whats-mcat-exam/publication-chapters/whats-mcat-exam), checked on September 22, 2026. Total content time is 6 hours and 15 minutes and total seated time about 7 hours and 30 minutes. 375 minutes over 230 questions is 97.8 seconds each, so run practice blocks at that pace.

CARS is the outlier at 102 seconds a question, and each science section carries 15 independent questions, 45 across the exam. Counts for the other exams are in the post on [how many questions each medical exam has](https://meduniexam.com/blog/how-many-questions-are-on-each-medical-exam.md).

## MCAT science practice written from your own review chapter

Those 45 independent science questions are what you can rehearse from your own material. Upload the chapter you are reviewing on [the MCAT page](https://meduniexam.com/exam/mcat.md), ask for 15 discrete single best answer items, and set a 24 minute timer, the pace of 59 questions in 95 minutes. Daily volume is its own question: the post on [how many practice questions a day is enough](https://meduniexam.com/blog/how-many-practice-questions-per-day.md) works through the counts. Each question prints the line of your chapter it came from and its page. This is not an AAMC item pool and has no connection to the AAMC.

The [sample exam](https://meduniexam.com/sample.md) runs with no upload and no account. A guest gets 60 verified questions, an account 300 a month free, and [pricing](https://meduniexam.com/pricing.md) carries a 90 day Exam Pass at USD 19.99 and a 500 question pack at USD 5.99. Neither renews.

## Questions people ask

### How long is an MCAT score valid?

Medical schools generally accept MCAT scores dating back two or three years, per the AAMC page on how long MCAT scores are valid, checked on September 22, 2026. AAMC rules set no expiry, so the window is the school policy rather than a rule. Check the oldest year each school on your list accepts before you plan a retake, because a score two cycles old may be live at one school and stale at the next.

### Is the MCAT hard?

Hard in a measurable way: 230 questions across 6 hours and 15 minutes of content time, about 7 hours and 30 minutes seated, at roughly 98 seconds a question. Mean total score is 500.6 with a standard deviation of 11.2 across 305,494 scores from 2023 to 2025. About 48 percent of MCAT scores are below 500.6, and the people who get in average 11.5 points above it.

### How many questions are on the MCAT CARS section?

Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills has 53 questions in 90 minutes, per the AAMC, checked on September 22, 2026. That is 102 seconds a question, the slowest pace of the four sections. All 53 hang off nine passage-based sets of five to seven questions, with no independent questions at all, so the section tests reading a text you have never seen rather than recalling content.

### What MCAT score do I need for Harvard Medical School?

The AAMC national FACTS Table A-16 does not break MCAT scores out by school. The AAMC MSAR database does, school by school, and each school posts its own class profile. What the AAMC publishes nationally, checked on September 22, 2026, is one figure: matriculants in 2025-2026 averaged 512.1, which is the 84th percentile, against 506.3 for everyone who applied.

### What is the MCAT failure rate?

There is no MCAT failure rate. The MCAT is scored 472 to 528 and the AAMC never reports a pass or a fail, so no share of test takers can fail it. The number that does the same job is the percentile rank, checked on September 22, 2026: 500 is the 48th, 508 the 74th and 515 the 91st. Score 490 or below and you are in the bottom fifth of the 305,494 scores in the current table.

### How many hours a week should I study for the MCAT?

No AAMC page gives a weekly hour figure. Dr. Sunny Nakae, in the marathon article checked on September 22, 2026, recommends six to eight hours a day for a minimum of six weeks, which works out to 42 to 56 hours a week and 252 to 336 hours in total. She also argues that six hours a day for six weeks beats 12 hours a day for three weeks.

### When does MCAT registration open for 2027?

Scheduling for the 2027 test dates opens October 20 to 22, 2026 at noon Eastern Time, split by testing center location: Group A on Tuesday, October 20, Group B on Wednesday, October 21 and Group C on Thursday, October 22, per the AAMC, checked on September 22, 2026. The 2027 year runs 35 U.S. dates from January 15 to September 11, with no testing from October through December 2027.

### What happens if you miss your MCAT test date?

A no-show counts as one of your attempts regardless of the reason, and the scheduling fee is not refunded, per the MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2026, checked on September 22, 2026. Canceling instead returns USD 175 of the standard USD 355 if you do it 30 or more days out, and USD 0 inside 30 days. With only seven lifetime attempts, canceling early beats missing the morning.

## Related pages

- [MCAT science practice from your own notes](https://meduniexam.com/exam/mcat.md): Discrete MCAT science questions generated from your own review chapter, each citing its page. Passage sets and CARS are not produced.
- [How Many Times You Can Take the NCLEX, Step 1, MCAT, PLAB 1](https://meduniexam.com/blog/how-many-times-can-you-take-step-1-nclex-mcat-and-plab-1.md): The attempt limit for all ten exams in one table: the NCLEX eight a year, four per USMLE Step, seven MCAT attempts in a lifetime, five NAPLEX attempts, five PLAB 1 attempts with the fifth by application, six at MRCP Part 1.
- [How Many Questions: Step 1, NCLEX, MCAT, PLAB](https://meduniexam.com/blog/how-many-questions-are-on-each-medical-exam.md): The question count, the testing time and the computed pace for the ten exams on this site, from USMLE Step 1 at about 280 questions to PLAB 1 at 180, each row naming the exam owner's document it came from, checked on September 21, 2026.
- [USMLE Step 1 Passing Score, Pass Rates by Year](https://meduniexam.com/blog/usmle-step-1-passing-score-and-pass-rates.md): The USMLE Step 1 passing standard is 196 on the three digit scale and the result comes back as pass or fail. Every published Step 1 pass rate from 2013 to 2025 sits here by year and examinee group.
- [Articles](https://meduniexam.com/blog.md): The article index: every post, newest first.